This week we learned what skills it takes to stay ahead in 2016, how the skyrocketing cost of child care is forcing women out of the workforce, and why hunching over your iPhone makes you less assertive.

The set of traits and know-how you'll need to succeed in the modern workplace combine hard and soft skills, and virtually all reflect the business world's ever more diverse, global bent. From multicultural knowledge to conflict resolution chops, here's a look at eight to focus on in order to stay ahead professionally.

How many times a day do you check your email? Author Chris Bailey does it only once, at 3 p.m. "People have a sepia-toned fantasy in their mind of being this person that wakes up early and gets an insane amount of work done every day," he says. But that's probably a bad idea. This week we learned Bailey's tips on finding your "biological prime time" and putting it to good use.

On average, professional women lose some $11,000 a year thanks to the gender pay gap, which just so happens to be the average annual cost of child care in the U.S. Those twinned issues are leading many working mothers to drop out of the workforce. That's a huge problem, and one expert says it's time for corrective legislation: "To really get a handle on America's child care crisis, the federal government has to take action to bring child care within the means of working parents."

You've seen that posture before, and chances are you've assumed it yourself: the slumped-over look writer Vivian Giang calls the "iHunch." But according to psychologist Amy Cuddy, posture can subtly impact a range of other behaviors, not least among them how assertively we present ourselves.

Sure, a side-hustle can be fulfilling and allow you to you pursue interests that your job doesn't. But it can wind up informing your career rather than just running alongside it. As one expert explained this week, "Side-giggers find ways to exploit their unique skills and interests along with what’s currently marketable."

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